Russia Warns Foreigners to Leave Kyiv... Issues Retaliatory Airstrike Threat Against Ukraine

Russia has warned foreigners to evacuate, as it has announced plans for a large-scale airstrike targeting Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

AFP Yonhap News Agency

According to Russian state-run TASS news agency on the 25th (local time), the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying, "In response to attacks on civilians, we will launch strikes against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities in Kyiv."

Russia claimed that the targets include drone-related facilities supported by NATO experts, as well as Ukrainian command centers. The country also warned foreigners currently staying in Kyiv, including diplomatic mission staff and representatives of international organizations, to leave the city as soon as possible.

Russia had also launched a large-scale retaliatory strike on Kyiv the previous day. At least four people were killed in that attack.

Russia claims that, on the 22nd, a university dormitory in Starobilsk, Luhansk—a Russian-occupied region—was hit by a Ukrainian attack, which resulted in the deaths of 16 students and left 42 injured. On the other hand, the Ukrainian military countered that the strike was aimed at a nearby military command post and accused Russia of manipulating related information.

Ukraine continued its own attacks targeting Russian oil facilities. On this day, the Ukrainian military announced that it struck the Vilets oil storage facility in Unecha, Bryansk Oblast, Russia. Ukraine has been using long-range drones to target oil-related facilities throughout Russia.

It has been analyzed that, up until recently, the Russian refineries damaged by Ukrainian attacks had a combined processing capacity of 238,000 tons per day, or 83 million tons per year. This amounts to about 25% of Russia's total refining capacity.

It was also reported that the crude oil processing facility in the Syzran region of Russia, which had been hit by a Ukrainian drone strike on the 21st, has suspended operations as of this day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.